Striped bass, temperature, and dissolved oxygen: a speculative hypothesis for environmental risk
Striped bass Morone saxatilis has a paradoxical record of distribution and abundance, including population declines in coastal waters and variable success of freshwater introductions. This record is analyzed for consistency with a hypothesis that striped bass are squeezed between their thermal and dissolved oxygen preferences or requirements. A commonality among diverse field and laboratory observations supports an inherent thermal niche for the species that changes to lower temperatures as fish age. This shift can cause local conditions, especially warm surface strata and deoxygenated deep water, to be incompatible with the success of large fish. Crowding due to temperature preferences alone or coupled with avoidance of low oxygen concentrations can lead to pathology and overfishing, which may contribute to population declines. Through a mixture of evidence and conjecture, the thermal niche-dissolved oxygen hypothesis is proposed as a unified perspective of the habitat requirements of the species that can aid in its study and management. 139 references, 12 figures.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-84OR21400
- OSTI ID:
- 5003400
- Journal Information:
- Trans. Am. Fish. Soc.; (United States), Vol. 114:1
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Striped bass and the management of cooling lakes. [Morone saxatilis]
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Related Subjects
STRIPED BASS
POPULATION DYNAMICS
TEMPERATURE EFFECTS
COASTAL WATERS
DISSOLVED GASES
OXYGEN
RISK ASSESSMENT
WATER POLLUTION
ANADROMOUS FISHES
ANIMALS
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
ELEMENTS
FISHES
FLUIDS
GASES
NONMETALS
POLLUTION
SOLUTES
SURFACE WATERS
VERTEBRATES
560205* - Thermal Effects- Vertebrates- (-1987)
560305 - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology- Vertebrates- (-1987)